Dark to Light
by flowwitheverything
Summary: Raven is a shapeshifter, she loves the sky and the feeling of the wind. She’s beautiful but deadly. When her only true friend finds her soulmate where does that leave Raven.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the nightworld series, but I own these characters and the story plot. Hope you like it, Please read and review.

Haunting music drifted from the speakers. The lyrics filled the store with and ominous feeling. The store as large, definitely bigger inside than it looked from the outside. It sold anything from CD's and clothes to exclusive Nightworld merchandise. Of course you had to be somebody to even get in; Raven was definitely someone. Her slender fingers gently touched the silky feathers. It was a dress that she had been wanting for over a month now and today was the day she was finally able to get it.

It was slimming, pure black. Feathers facing downwards, like a silky black waterfall. The ends of the drop-down sleeves were lined with fur from a dead 'shifter. She didn't feel squeamish about wearing a dress made entirely from a dead shapeshifter. If she didn't then it wouldn't exactly work when she changed. Besides, in her eyes it was the way of the world, death was just something that happened and if it helped future generations then fine. It swirled down to her ankles and looked glorious. Raven had been trying to get it for a month but her allowance had been stopped for a while, she had a disagreement to put it nicely.

She swayed up to the counter and smiled deliciously at the made vampire behind the counter. She handed over the money and her smile grew wider. The vampire behind the counter looked bored but she was too happy to care. Her full-length leather skirt swirled around her as she took the black bag and walked towards the front of the store.

"Leona, are you coming?" Raven called.

A tall girl with short, golden hair and eyes with a cat-like hunting glow appeared from behind a rack filled with earrings. "Do you think that I should get these?" Leona asked, holding up a pair of gold earrings in the shape of a hunting lion.

Raven rolled her eyes; Leona could be so predictable sometimes.

"It's your money, Leo" Raven said with a cheeky smile.

Leona stuck her tongue out at her, going cross-eyed at the same time. It caused them both to collapse into giggles. Leona headed up to the counter with the earrings, leaving Raven to look through the CD's.

Raven was halfway through the B's when she noticed something outside the window. It was a casual movement, someone drawing to a stop as if they had seen something in the window that they liked and wanted to get a better look at it. However, from the corner of her eye she knew that he was watching her. She took a deep breath and turned to face him squarely. She expected him to be embarrassed and turn away, but he just stood there, staring. His expression was unreadable and she couldn't get a read on him, tell if he was human or something else.

Then, on no signal she could see, he turned away and carried on walking. Raven remained frozen, she couldn't even think about moving.

"Hey, you ready to go?" Leona asked behind her, placing a hand lightly on Raven's shoulder. Raven jumped like she'd been electrocuted.

"Whoa! You okay?" Leona asked anxiously.

Raven shook herself mentally and tried to plaster a smile onto her face, it came out as more of a grimace though. "Yeah, sure." She said before walking out of the shop, leaving Leona no choice but to follow behind.

Raven sat in the food court looking around at the humans rushing about. Leona was sat in the seat across from her still looking at Raven strangely. Raven was trying hard to ignore her. Raven couldn't help but looking up at the sliver of sky that could be seen from the skylight.

They sat for about five minutes, not touching the food that they had ordered so that they could sit down without being disturbed. Leona suddenly smiled maliciously. Raven was confused but then she followed Leona's gaze. Lining up at KFC two lads that looked about nineteen were arguing. Raven smiled along with Leona and they both stood up. They walked over and the arguing immediately stopped. Raven made herself look shy and slightly embarrassed while Leona drew herself up to her full height and smiled warmly at them.

The two lads were transfixed. Leona walked closer and practically purred when she said, "My friend and I were wondering what your names were. We noticed you two and we were honestly surprised to see two gorgeous lads like you without any girls by your side."

The two guys stuttered out there names and the slightly smaller one made his way around Leona and up to Raven. "What's your name sweet?"

Raven mumbled that her name was Emily and the guy grinned widely. Raven was trying extremely hard not to grin; it took a lot of effort.

"Hey." Leona said. "Why don't you come and join us, it seems we ordered to much food for us to handle all by ourselves."

The two lads couldn't believe what they were hearing. Two gorgeous girls asking them to join them for dinner. Of course, what was going to be the meal? Without hesitating the guy's left the line and walked over to the table that Raven and Leona had previously been sat at.

Time went on and Raven began to perk up, like she was coming out of her shell. With every joke the lad that was sat next to Raven seemed to move closer and closer. After about an hour Raven and Leona began to grab their bags to leave. The two lads looked devastated but Raven and Leona ignored the pitiful protests. They grinned at each other and before they left they turned and blew each and lad a kiss. They knew that the lads wouldn't be able to resist. They had played this game many times before.

Raven winked at the lad that had been getting closer and closer to her then she walked out of the food court. They could sense the two lads following slowly behind them, they smiled at each other and then faked a dramatic goodbye and they each separated, going to separate ways out of the mall. It was starting to get dark outside, being winter the nights were longer of course.

A cold, harsh wind bit at her cheeks as she stepped outside. The car park stretched out in front of her, the dark enveloping the furthest cars. She slowly started to walk along next to the wall and her senses she could feel that only one of them was following her, perfect, just as they planned.

The wind persisted and when she was sure that she was far enough away from the light she pretended to stumble and fall. Just as she had thought he ran up closer and helped her up. She leant in to him as if to protect herself from the wind and he wrapped an arm around her. He gently pushed her back from himself slightly and looked into her eyes.

She smiled sweetly and slowly rose to her tiptoes as if to kiss him. He closed his eyes foolishly and she pressed her lips to his. Then, hunger overwhelmed her she bit his lips drawing blood.

"Ow!" He exclaimed, but he didn't exactly pull away. He was too fascinated by the girl that seemed so shy but then, suddenly turned into a viscous wildcat. He grinned and his lip looked strange, slightly misshapen and very red.

He backed her up to the wall and she didn't resist. He drew in closer and then, she struck. She punched him in the stomach, then snapped his neck. He died instantly.

She didn't feel remorse instead she began to change. She became smaller. Her whole body pulled in, her arms became silky, feathered wings. Her legs became thinner, her toenails becoming sharp talons. Her face became pointed, into a black beak sharper than any knife.

Then, she fed.


	2. Chapter 2

A week later

Raven sat looking up into the branches of the tree that shaded their table. It was in the middle of a school day but her mind was more occupied with other things. The sun was warm and inviting and she was unable to break free of her human prison and embrace the warm breeze with silky feathers. Everyone around her was talking but she couldn't be bothered to pay attention. An entire plate of untouched food lay in front of her but she couldn't be bothered to pay attention to that either. The blue sky above that was so visible taunted her, the light breeze laughed at her shamelessly. She groaned softly and Leona finished her conversation before moving closer to Raven.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I can't stand it. The same old charade over and over again. Why do we even have to keep coming here?" Raven said, looking Leona straight in the eye.

"Um, it's the law." Leona said for what felt like the millionth time.

"A stupid human law. Since when do we stick to any laws? I feel so confined, held back. I think I'm going to skive off the rest of the day. You coming?" Raven said, not totally caring about the answer.

Leona seemed to be torn. She knew that it wasn't right to leave school in the middle of the day and that if she did she would definitely get into a lot of trouble, but she hated not knowing where Raven was when she disappeared on her own and it caused her to worry unnecessarily about her best friend. Not that she would ever tell Raven that.

Raven got to her feet and looked down at her best friend. Extremely reluctantly Leona shook her head slowly. Raven just shrugged her slender shoulders and walked towards the school. Raven didn't look back. Leona sighed and began to chat animatedly with a random human from the group that more followed Raven and herself than it being the other way around.

Raven pushed the door open and stepped into one of the small hallways that led to some of the cages better known as classrooms. She didn't turn off anywhere and she kept walking all the way down the corridor. She paused when she reached the staff room and cautiously drew up to the window. Silly human teachers didn't bother her but she felt that she would go insane if one of them stopped her and her escape plan was foiled. They were all to busy watching something on the television and she grinned as she slunk past. She cast out her senses but nothing was ahead to stop her. She pushed the heavy main door open and sighed in relief. She ran quickly over to her car and jumped in smoothly. The car was a sleek dark purple convertible and she shot the car forward, out of the school premises.

The wind whipped round her and her smile grew wider as the relief of being free enveloped her. She manoeuvred around interlocking streets, heading to somewhere she could always call home. Nowhere else was quite home to her or felt as comforting and safe. As the streets disappeared and the road became less smooth she relaxed and eased up on the accelerator. The scrubby woodland was inviting and streams of sunlight filtered through the trees lighting a path to freedom. She laughed out loud at how corny she sounded in her head and the carefree sound joined with the air around her. She stopped the car and stepped out. The soft sounds of many different creatures were comforting and it never failed to help her find a calming peace. The earthy, wooden smells were a lot welcomer to her rather than anything in the town and especially around the school.

She stepped away from the car and further into the trees. She walked until she could no longer see the car behind her. It had been a week since that night at the mall but something about that day still weighed heavily upon her mind. She was frustrated that she couldn't put her finger on it. It was nagging her more than a piece of meat stuck at the back of her teeth. She shook herself and started to change. All of her worries and anxieties fell away as her human form did.

She stretched her wings to get used to being back in her raw form and then she kicked upwards. The feeling of being in the air was unlike any other. The wind carried her as she flew past tree after tree. She could hear small animals moving around below but she wasn't there to eat. She had already eaten what she needed earlier that morning and she wasn't in the mood to take more than she needed.

Despite the joy she always felt when she was a Raven (and it wasn't just her name) she couldn't stay in her more comfortable form forever. The sun was beginning to set and a chill was being brought along with the darkness of the night. She knew that she was going to get into trouble for skipping school and that meant she didn't feel too compelled to rush back. She wished that she didn't have to go back to school ever again but she had to keep up the charade. Nightworlders were used to keeping up charades, they had to in order to survive. History had proved that over and over again.

She settled on a branch and looked around her. Something didn't feel quite right. She had the feeling something was there and it wasn't a good feeling. She threw out all her senses, trying to see what was beyond her sight line but she could detect nothing. She couldn't shake the feeling though, because she was listening so intently for something that she wasn't even sure was there it took her a couple of minutes to realise that all of the animals were silent. It intensified the uneasy feeling by quite a large chunk.

She stretched her wings out and dived down. Just before hitting the woodland floor she pulled up and the thrill of the daring dive nearly caused her to lose her balance again. As each of the stars appeared one by one in the midnight-blue sky she glided through the air avoiding trees, heading towards her car again quickly.

She finally reached her car and perched herself upon the drivers seat. She changed back and placed her hands upon the steering wheel. She yawned and put the gearshift into drive. She started to pull forward when a blurred form shot in front. She slammed down onto the breaks hard and the car threw her body forward sharply. Her head hit hard off the driving wheel. Her whole body slumped backwards, into the seat and the darkness took over. Her vision became blurred and a large hand grasped her shoulder.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors note:**

**I'm really sorry if you were expecting another chapter but I had to put this in. I'm afraid that I went totally of course with the story and now I don't have a clue with what to do about it. Please, if you have ****any**** ideas, I don't care if its aliens with purple spots have kidnapped her and she then becomes their slave and she then helps them take over the world. I just don't know what to do. I might just either start completely afresh or edit what I've already got, either way I'd like to know what you think. Please press review and give me some help. **

**Much appreciated,**

Flowwitheverything 


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